SOME TIPS TO HELP YOU STOP OBSESSING

It is hard to stop the annoying voices inside your head; they persist, nag and endure longer than your patience. Here are some strategies that can help you from time to time:

• Acknowledge that you are off the road and you need to get back on track. A very helpful visualization is to imagine that your mind is a car driving on the highway and when you have an obsession – cannot let go of insecurity or regret – it simply means you get off the road and you need to direct the car back on track. Do that exercise whenever you are in an obsessive state.

• Another helpful technique is to visualize a stop sign; it does not have to be a fancy image to quiet the buggers in your head. Visualizing the stop sign whenever your thoughts take on a life on their own is like a ritual to help you remind yourself to stop and you need to direct your thoughts back to reality.

• Get moving and change the scenery in any way possible, as the shift can distract you from your thoughts. If you are at home, walk around the block and if you are at work, take a bathroom break. Try this strategy if you find your mind keeps going back to that spot and you cannot take it anymore despite employing the visualization technique.

• It is OK to get mad and yell at your brain or your obsession; they deserve it. Though it is recognized that anger is not becoming, but new research indicates that at times anger can contribute to well- being and happiness.